Doctor Who: "The Impossible Planet"Review

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The Doctor and Rose are stuck with the crew of a station that's on a planet orbiting a black hole.

By Ahsan Haque

The first thing that stands out in this episode is the fantastic set design. The look and feel of the claustrophobic and worn in station has a visual style reminiscent of some of the ship interiors from big budget sci-fi movies. This really adds a certain visual authenticity that is often lacking in other Doctor Who episodes. In addition, the metallic gritty feel of the station further adds to the plight of the Doctor and Rose, who have lost the Tardis and are trapped along with the other crew members. Of all the times that the Doctor's been seemingly trapped in a timeline, this situation somehow feels the most bleak and hopeless.

The idea of a hellish creature being unearthed by scientists exploring some kind of mystery in the depths of the space isn't particularly new. In fact, much of this episode felt a bit like watching a moderately entertaining B-movie like Event Horizon. Fortunately for Doctor Who fans, the interaction between Rose, The Doctor, and the crew is very tightly scripted and there are enough puzzle pieces that are strategically laid out by the writers that help elevate this episode way above the source material used for inspiration.

Fans of the original run of Doctor Who would be interested to know that veteran actor Gabriel Woolf, who appeared in a Tom Baker episode in the mid 1970s, returns to provide the menacing voice of "The Beast." In an extremely effective sequence, "The Beast" creeps up behind one of the scientists and eerily asks him not to turn around. "I'm behind you, Toby, I'm right behind you. Don't look, don't look at me. One look and you will die. I'm reaching out, Toby, I'm so close don't turn around. Oh, I can touch you&#Array;"

Of course, Toby turns around and he realizes that something has happened to him. Strange hieroglyphics appear everywhere on his body and his eyes turn red. It's a remarkably well directed scene and Gabriel Woolf's incredibly eerie voice makes this the scariest Doctor Who scene of the season.

Also interesting is the inclusion of a slave race known as the Ood. The Ood are these tentacle-mouthed beings whose primary function in life is to serve humans. They communicate telepathically with each other and use some kind of speech adapter when speaking to humans. Towards the end of the episode, the Ood are somehow overrun and possessed by the ancient beast that lives underneath the planet surface, and attack their former masters that run the station.

The idea of the planet being tethered by a powerful funnel generated below the planet's surface is a fascinating science fiction concept as well. This energy funnel essentially keeps the planet from being swallowed by the nearby black hole. In an obvious satanic reference, the power required to generate the gravity field was some variant of six to the power of six every six seconds. By the end of the episode, the devilish creature's pit is opened and the gravity field disappears. As a result the station is cut loose and will be sucked into the black hole unless the Doctor and Rose find a way to stop it from happening in the second chapter of this two part episode.

Overall this was an extremely well written and directed episode with awesome visuals and excellent sound design. As with most episodes, the storyline feels very familiar, but is presented with ample flair and charm and because of this, "The Impossible Planet" stands out as one of this season's highlights.